Carol Kaye, one of the most prolific bassists in rock and pop history, said she does not want to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The in-demand musician, who collaborated with Barbra Streisand, Stevie Wonder, The Beach Boys and The Supremes among many other hitmakers starting in the 1960s, was listed as a 2025 Hall of Fame inductee in April alongside the late record producer Thom Bell and the late pianist Nicky Hopkins in the Musical Excellence category. The category honors artists whose “originality and influence have had a dramatic impact on music.”

Kaye, 90, announced her decision to turn her back on one of rock music’s most famous accolades on Facebook earlier this week, according to Bass Magazine and other outlets.

The magazine described the news of Kaye’s induction as “as a triumph to her fans and to bassists everywhere.” (Very few women bassists have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Others include Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads and The Go-Go’s Kathy Valentine.)

Kaye’s Facebook post was taken down on Thursday, but Bass Magazine and other outlets shared its contents: “It wasn’t something that reflects the work that Studio Musicians do and did in the golden era of the 1960s Recording Hits…….. you are always part of a TEAM, not a solo artist at all,” Kaye reportedly wrote on Facebook. “I refuse to be part of a process that is something else rather than what I believe in, for others’ benefit and not reflecting on the truth — we all enjoyed working with EACH OTHER……..Thank-You for understanding.”

Another likely issue is Kaye’s aversion to the name “Wrecking Crew.” Coined by drummer Hal Blaine, it was given to a group of in-demand session musicians in the 1960s and 70s which included, among others, Blaine, Dr. John, Glen Campbell, and Kaye. Kaye has publicly refuted the name in the past, including in her now-deleted Facebook post: “I was never a ‘wrecker’ at all….that’s a terrible insulting name.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame does not reference The Wrecking Crew in connection with Kaye in its current online content about the artist. But an old version of the artist’s biography on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website does explicitly connect Kaye to this group: “A first-call member of the elite stable of Los Angeles session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, Kaye played on an estimated 10,000 recordings, making her one of the most recorded bassists in history,” the biography states.

Neither the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nor Kaye immediately responded to NPR’s requests for comment.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, musician Benny Goodman, who goes by the moniker The Neurotic Guitarist and has close to 45,000 subscribers on YouTube, said the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, “kept saying she [Kaye] was from The Wrecking Crew over and over.” Goodman, who described Kaye as being like “a grandma” to him, added: “That name holds trauma for her.”

Kaye isn’t the first potential inductee to push back against the accolade. Dolly Parton initially rejected her induction in 2022. The county music star posted a statement on social media saying she was grateful for the nomination, but didn’t think she had necessarily “earned that right.” Despite her qualms, the artist ultimately acquiesced and went ahead with the induction.

The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Nov. 8 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

From its underground psychedelic scene to iconic cinematic composers, Rome is a city rich in musical history. For our latest Sense of Place series, the World Cafe team traveled to Italy’s capital city to capture a sliver of Rome’s musical wonders.

From June 20 to July 2, we’ll be sharing dispatches from our Sense of Place: Rome series. We’ll visit the studio where Ennio Morricone recorded cinematic masterpieces for films like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. We’ll also take you inside a record label dedicated to preserving lost B-movie soundtracks.

The series will highlight contemporary musicians shaping the sounds of Rome and Italy today, like Laila al Habash. The Rome-born, Milan-based artist shares with us how her Palestinian roots inspire her music.

To kick things off, we’ve put together a mixtape with some of the music that’ll be featured throughout our latest Sense of Place series, plus some extra Italian classics to set the mood.

On top of interviews and stories, we also have a slate of performances, recorded live in Italy. Check out the full schedule of episodes below:

June 20 – Four Flies Records

A Rome-based label with a unique mission: recovering and reissuing Italian B-movie soundtracks from the 1960s-’80s. Founder Pier De Sanctis shares the stories behind these cinematic gems.

June 23 – Weird Bloom

The sound of ’70s psychedelic glam rock lives on in Rome. Frontman Luca Di Cataldo talks about his work with producer Don Bolles and cultivating a local music scene through his indie label and studio, Pom Pom.

June 24 – Laila al Habash

The Rome-born, Milan-based artist shares why she writes in Italian, how her Palestinian roots inspire her music, and performs songs from her latest EP and upcoming album, Tempo.

June 25 – Ludovico Einaudi

One of the most-streamed classical composers in the world, Einaudi reflects on memory, family and his latest album, The Summer Portraits, plus the story behind his Arctic piano performance.

June 26 – Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi on Rome

This encore episode revisits the duo’s cinematic 2011 album, Rome, recorded at the legendary Forum Studios with a nod to Spaghetti Western soundtracks and Morricone’s legacy.

June 27 – Forum Studios

Go inside the famed Roman studio founded by Morricone and other composers in 1969. Instruments from classic soundtracks still echo through this space, and its story lives on through the studio’s current director.

June 30 – Black Snake Moan

A one-man psychedelic blues band channeling the spirit of the American Southwest while drawing from his own roots in the Italian countryside. Plus, Black Snake Moan performs a live set recorded at Studio 33 in Rome.

July 1 – Six Bars Jail

This volunteer-run folk club outside Florence has hosted finger-style guitarists from around the world since 2006. Hear how the tradition continues in an intimate and unexpected setting.

July 2 – Ariete

A rising Italian pop star with a soulful, introspective style, Ariete talks about coming of age in music, earning her family’s support, and what really launched her career, plus she performs a stripped-down session at Studio 33.